Kay Macsween, Project Officer, Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care ACT Office. That the Department of Health and Aged Care – ACT Branch ensure that carers (home workers) are properly trained and supported and that service delivery is adequately monitored.
Introduction
Presentation of the findings
Methods
- Collaborative research
- Ethics
- Other preliminary work
- Questionnaire
- Field notes
- Data analysis
- Access
- The interviews
Most city centers were represented in the postal codes of the 42 ACT residents we interviewed (Table 3). Most of the remaining individuals were interviewed in the presence of a family member or friend (Table 5).
Respondents’ involvement with other research
Sociodemographic characteristics
- Type of respondent
- Community
- Age
- Age and gender
- Marital status
As a result of the low mortality among indigenous people, there were progressively smaller numbers in the older age groups. The numbers in the other age groups are too small to draw any conclusions, but some can be drawn about the overall overall difference.
Health
Stolen Generations
We did not ask people if they belonged to the Stolen Generation, but during the interview four people talked about their experiences of being Stolen. Another respondent, who was also one of the stolen generations, stated that there should be a "code of conduct" for consultants.
Physical health
Since it is the problem of the stolen generations, which, perhaps above all those reported to us, affects the three areas of physical, mental and social health, not only for the individual who has been stolen, but for the entire indigenous community, we. discuss it separately here. Although not Stolen themselves, some respondents talked about family members being Stolen, or the general impact that the Stolen Generations had on their lives.
A general need for Indigenous people to have a “diabetes check-up” was referred to by another respondent.
We have had regular discussions with the ACT office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Older People about how to deal with this problem. I thank the ACT office of the Commonwealth Department of Health for providing me with this opportunity. ACT Office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care and ACT Health and Community Care.
Canberra, ACT Office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care and ACT Health and Community Care. I am aware that the research was funded by the ACT Office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care.
Twelve people reported a history of asthmatic attacks and there were an additional 14 reports of other respiratory conditions. A greater percentage of reports of asthma among men was found in the 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey (Madden of men age above 45), but there was a similar proportion of women in that survey (23.0% of women older than 45) compared to women in our sample.
23 6.2.ix: Comparisons between health problems reported by the people we interviewed and those in the 1994 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey.
Another person talked about the need for an indigenous rehabilitation center for people addicted to alcohol. With her permission, we contacted the ACT office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, who arranged for an advocate to come to try to resolve this issue. The ACT office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care told them there would be a report on the meeting and another meeting of community elders.
However, residential aged care is largely in the hands of the non-governmental religious, charitable and private sectors. Researchers at the National Center for Epidemiology and Population Health at Australian National University have been funded by the ACT Office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care to conduct an analysis of the health and community needs of older Indigenous people in the ACT and region.
Although this woman appreciated and praised her quality of care, she was concerned that she was not receiving enough hours per week to meet her daily hygiene needs. We were told that because the respondent already receives nineteen and a half hours of care per week, she is not eligible for more hours.
Mental health
Those needs are relevant to the needs articulated for an indigenous residence and which we discuss below.
Use of medications
When he's on the grog [four to six week "binges"], he won't take the tablets. So he takes a few weeks off, when he has no money, then he's back on.
Alcohol use
Tobacco use
Other drug use
Contact with health service providers
Most respondents had seen a specialist doctor (n and a majority had also had contact with a paramedic (n examples are opticians, dentists, physiotherapists, podiatrists and dieticians). the services.
Help with physical and mental health problems
Social Health
I now offer some of the memories of the investigative process that are not encapsulated in the report. While the information we obtain will help the ACT Office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care to provide services to older Indigenous people, the researchers cannot guarantee service to the people they interview. I have been told that while the information I provide will assist the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care ACT office in providing services to older Indigenous people, the researchers cannot guarantee that the services will be provided to me.
In 1996, about 60 percent of Indigenous people nationally said they had left school before the age of 17 (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs, 2000). According to McConnell, census data reveal that "consistent with the overall trend in the ACT, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people stay at school longer when comparing data from 1991 and 1996" (1998:11). Given the age range of the people we interviewed, the higher number of early school leavers compared to the national sample of all Indigenous people is likely to be age-related.
I've been told I can't get Abstudy to TAFE halfway through the last course and they won't pay for our courses. She said she would like a caregiver to escort her parents to the ATM because "I'm worried about them getting their money and getting robbed." A man's problems were related to the gift of children, which he said he often did not receive. For example, one man said, “The government says we are old at fifty, so why can't we get the benefits sooner?” A similar comment came from another man who said, “I can't get a Senior card.
If we could find an indigenous house, you don't have to declare your finances and the number of people living in the house. They each had several debilitating illnesses and urgently needed help around the house (as well as the yard). We conclude that the psychological programming of the Stolen Generations era is still embedded in the memory of these people.
Because of the seemingly unusual requirements for wall washing, we make some further comments on it here so that service providers are aware of the genesis of this need. The policy of the perpetrators of the Stolen Generations was to recruit indigenous people as domestic servants to perform tasks such as washing walls. In the back of The Canberra Times.” When we expressed our displeasure with this response, then identified ourselves by title and institution, we were redirected to a more senior person.
Shopping
Help with cooking
Transport
Other social problems
Aged care preferences
- Resident Classification Scale
- Community or Residential Care
- Type of community care
- Indigenous or non-Indigenous organisation
- Preferences for aged care residences
- Carer preferences
- i: Cultural background of a carer
- ii: Gender of a carer for general care
- iii: Gender of a carer for personal care
- iv: Age of a carer
- Service delivery
- Consent for services
One person said they would not use the service, one said "Depending on need" and already received HACC services. One person said "Don't know", one asked no (under 45 years old) and one said he wanted an "Aboriginal Hostel". Another person made a general comment about service, saying, “I would like to be involved in setting it up [a service for indigenous peoples].
Need for information
If it's in plain English, I've done two years [of tertiary study], but I want something in plain language. This need is documented below as we record our findings on familiarity with home, yard, health, shopping, cooking, and transportation assistance services. Other elders do the same things, this is an additional task that the natives have more.
Need for advocacy
Personal reflections
I would like to make it known that if the end product of this research is treated "like a trophy", I in no way hold my fellow members of the research team responsible. I asked some of the people who spoke of this hardship whether it would make a difference to them if the Prime Minister said yes. 87 read a draft of this report and was reminded of the appalling state of native health in general, as well as the plight of many of the people we interviewed.
Conclusion
Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Capital Territory, Report of the Aged Care Planning Advisory Committee. Some aged care facilities, however, offer a continuum from high to low levels of care. This can be provided at the carer's home, aged care facility or day center (ACT Office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care and ACT Health and Community Care).
Meetings with service providers
We are now coming to the end of the interview, but we would like to ask you a few questions about any older Indigenous people you know who may need some health or community services in the next 5 years. Do you have any friends or relatives aged 45 or over who live outside the ACT or Queanbeyan? If there were adequate health or community services for Indigenous people in the ACT, do you think they might move here for services.
Finally, while we're at it, we'd like to ask if there's anyone living in the ACT or region who you're concerned is using illicit drugs. Mrs Hilary Crawford; Mrs. Flo Grant; Mr. Bill Humes; Mrs. Audrey Kinnear; Agnes Shea and representatives from the ACT Office of the Commonwealth Department of Health and the ACT Department of Health and Social Care.
The questionnaire
The Resident Classification Scale
The Flyer
The interviews will last one to two hours and we will ask questions about health status, current use of health and community services, and a need for health or community services. Interviews will be conducted by Indigenous researcher Ros Brown and non-Indigenous researcher Phyll Dance. If you would like to be interviewed, please contact us at one of the following numbers (you can reverse charge if you wish):.
Consent for interview form
Consent for referral to other services form
